


Aftermath

by SassySnowperson (DramaticEntrance)



Series: Bodhi Lives [7]
Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Bodhi got used to being a hermit, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, He's not sure how to people again, K-2SO takes it in stride, Questions of Droid Rights, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-10
Updated: 2017-08-10
Packaged: 2018-12-13 11:33:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11758983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DramaticEntrance/pseuds/SassySnowperson
Summary: Change is never easy. Bodhi is used to his social circle being more of a social...line, consisting of himself and a sentient shuttle. Suddenly he and K-2SO are around more people, more droids, and more expectations than they really know what to do with.As the dust settles, Bodhi and K-2SO figure out who they are to the Rebellion, where they fit, and what exactly makes a home.A direct sequel toRogues Last Run.





	Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> Once again, the relative lack of grammatical nightmares is brought to you by the lovely [Aeshna](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Aeshna/). Any remaining are my fault entirely.

“Have they figured out you’re a shuttle yet?” Bodhi subvocalized, mouth and tongue moving but no sound coming out.

“No,” came K-2SO’s voice, clear and quiet in his ear. “They still think I’m the KX-chassis. I have not detected anyone even performing the base deduction of realizing this is not my original chassis. Additionally, no personnel have reviewed our cargo to discover the other droid bodies.”

Bodhi stretched out in his bunk and stared up at the ceiling. Small ships hung and shifted as the shuttle moved imperceptibly through hyperspace. He lifted his hands and saw that the palms were healing, wounds replaced by fresh pink skin, all signs of infection gone. It was amazing what could be accomplished with appropriate medical supplies. 

“We should figure out what our story is about how we got off of Scarif. Nobody’s really asked, so far, but it’s just a matter of time.” 

“Though it may make things initially easier, lying to the Rebellion will likely result in a poor future relationship. It is not the best strategic decision.” 

“So what are we doing right now?” 

“Omitting. Being obviously distracted by the urgency of your required care. Speaking of which, it’s time for you to drink more juice now.” 

“What would I do without you?” Bodhi subvocalized with a wry grin. Nevertheless, he sat up in the bed, reached over to the small sidetable, and grabbed the juice. 

There was a knock on the cabin door. “Come in,” Bodhi called. 

Moonsong stuck her head in the door. “Hey, Rook. How you feeling?” 

Bodhi smiled. “Better and better. Still dealing with how strange it is to be a passenger in my shuttle.” 

“I can’t imagine,” Moonsong said with a rueful chuckle. “Don’t worry. You’ll be up and piloting again soon enough. Just sit back and let us do the heavy lifting for now. By the way, this is your ‘thirty minutes to Hoth’ warning.” 

Bodhi looked down at the pajamas he was wearing. “I suppose that means I should attempt to get dressed.” 

“If you need any help…”

Bodhi felt heat in his cheeks. “I’ll ask K-2SO,” he said quickly.

Moonsong nearly turned red enough to match her hair. “Oh, yeah, I was going to volunteer Janson.” 

Bodhi quirked the corner of his mouth up. “Much as I appreciate your confidence in his generosity...I think I can manage pants.” 

“You know what people say. Pants, then piloting,” Moonsong said with breezy confidence.

“I have never heard people say that.” 

“You’ve been hanging around the wrong people. Anyway, I’ll leave you to your pants.” Moonsong left, shutting the door behind her. 

“How is Janson doing at flight control?” Bodhi subvocalized. 

“I have managed not to wrench the controls away from him yet. My chassis is in the copilot's seat, it’s very intimidating. He is motivated to treat the shuttle well.” 

“Well done,” Bodhi said, navigating his way into warmer clothes. “I am somewhat disappointed that we’ve rejoined the Rebellion just in time for them to move into an ice cave.” 

“This is a limitation of your organic body. I can survive in ice caves just fine. In both the shuttle form and in any of my chassis.” 

Bodhi paused, mid-way through shirt application. “They are going to figure out the chassis thing sooner or later. What _shouldn’t_ I tell them?” 

“We are planning on staying here long-term?”

“I—well, yes, as long as you’re okay with it.” 

“I am. We need support. Which means the Rebellion needs to know our honest capabilities.” 

“Alright. I just—we haven’t had the best luck with explaining to people how you work. I’m…I’m not staying if they try to hurt you.”

Bodhi finished getting dressed and realized he was exhausted. He sat back down on the bed, breathing heavily, worn out from just mild activity. 

“You are not in any condition to leave. Let's at least try to find a compromise until you are up to your normal body weight.”

“So sensible. I’m perfectly fine...as long as I’m allowed to hold very still and not move at all.”

“That’s not reassuring.”

* * *

Janson grinned at Bodhi as he hopped down the ladder. “Your baby handles like a dream, now that we got the hyperdrive motivator patched up. What sort of mods do you have on this thing?” 

Bodhi smiled. “Too many to count.” 

“Come on…” Janson wheedled, “I know those thrusters and sublights aren’t standard, shuttle handles like a starfighter, probably some reinforced hull to account for the increased stress…”

“You are forgetting the most important part!” Moonsong said, sliding down the ladder herself. “Motherfuckin’ plasma cannon. And I know I saw an ion on this thing as well.” 

“I have decided that Moonsong is my favorite,” K-2SO said through his chassis as it descended the ladder after Moonsong.

“I’m hurt,” Bodhi said. 

“Ah, he obviously meant of the new people. _I’m_ the one that’s hurt.” Janson put his hand over his heart in mock-affront. “Anyway, we’ve landed on Hoth. Ready for your grand introduction to the Rebellion, Hero?”

“No,” Bodhi said. “And I’m not a hero.” 

“Rook, there was propaganda made about you while everyone still thought you were dead. Now you’re alive and the press is really going to have a field day. Better just get used to the badge of honor,” Moonsong informed him.

Bodhi rolled his eyes. 

“It is so pleasant to hear you argue with somebody else for a change,” K-2SO added, unhelpfully, grabbing Bodhi’s coat and holding it up for him. Bodhi glared at K-2SO and shrugged into it. 

Bodhi took a deep breath to calm his nerves. The Ardent had been filled with people, but after his first introduction he had spent pretty much the whole time there in the med bay, emerging in a hoverchair only to supervise the repairs on the shuttle. 

When the time came to make the trip to Hoth, Bodhi was very clear - the shuttle was home and he and the shuttle went together. For some reason, the Ardent deck crew were oddly reluctant to release Bodhi, who still felt more than half-dead, for piloting duty. Moonsong and Janson had volunteered to fly him to Hoth in the shuttle.

It was profoundly disorienting to have these relative strangers in K-2SO and his space. They had largely left him alone for the trip, but Bodhi was aware with each passing second that neither he nor K-2SO were flying the shuttle. And now they were landing on a base that was supposed to be his new home. 

Bodhi wasn’t sure what to do with a home that wasn’t a vehicle. Still. He couldn’t hide on the shuttle forever. He’d better go out and meet these people.

Some of his nerves must have shown, because Moonsong reached over and gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. You’ll get to wave a little bit, shake hands with a couple of officials, and we’ll get you installed in the medbay again.” 

Bodhi looked down on the ground and nodded. “Alright.” 

The ramp opened. The first thing to hit Bodhi was the cold. It made his teeth ache and he tucked his hands into his pockets. As the ramp continued lowering, the next thing Bodhi realized was...that was a lot of people. 

It seemed like the entire complement of Hoth Base was there. Face after face stared up at him. Murmurs started to move through the crowd. There was this growing feeling of expectation and anticipation. 

Then someone started clapping. 

The clapping spread like wildfire through the crowd. It became cheers. Within the matter of seconds a whole host of people were screaming. Bodhi started breathing faster, feeling panic rise up in his chest. 

“Breathe in,” he heard, quiet in his ear. “One, two three. Out, one, two, three. I’m here. I’ll punch anyone who gets too close.”

Bodhi felt himself relax almost immediately. He mustered up a false smile and lifted a hand in something he hoped resembled a gracious wave. “Please don’t punch people. That’s a terrible first impression,” he said very quietly through his teeth. 

“Only because you asked,” said the voice in his ear. 

Bodhi walked down the ramp, managed to graciously acknowledge those who were close, shook a few hands, and managed not to let his amusement at K-2SO’s running commentary show on his face. 

As they walked toward the medbay, the crowd thinned out, and a few officials introduced themselves, one-by-one. A man with a full head of snowy white hair matched by a bushy white beard introduced himself as General Dodonna, sector command. Another white-haired man, slightly less fortunate on the hair front with a balding head to go with his beard, was introduced to Bodhi as General Grafis, ordinance and supply. After that Bodhi lost track of the names, General, General, Admiral, oh, a Commander, to switch things up. Bodhi was just growing comfortable with the high-ranking blur when…

“General Davits Draven, Rebel Intelligence.” 

That got Bodhi’s attention. He examined the man—light skin, blue eyes, sandy-brown hair. Tall. Serious expression. Bodhi cleared his throat. “Cassian’s boss.” 

The man looked a little uncomfortable. “I was, yes.”

“Good. I’m glad we met,” Bodhi said, nodding slowly. 

Draven nodded back, looking a little confused. “Likewise. I’ll let you get on to the medbay. We’ll have time to talk after you’ve recovered.” 

Draven looked away from Bodhi, glancing around the other members of the party. 

Bodhi saw an opening. He pivoted forward and clocked Draven across the jaw with all the strength his gaunt frame had left in it. It turned out that was enough force that a sick _crack_ echoed in the hallway. Draven wound up sprawled out on the floor, one hand pressed against his jaw, the other beginning to move toward his hip. 

“That was for Galen you _bastard_ ,” Bodhi hissed with all the vitriol he could muster. 

K-2SO quickly moved between Bodhi and the stunned man on the floor fumbling for his blaster. “Bodhi is disoriented and malnourished. Likely confused.”

In Bodhi’s ear, he heard K-2SO say, “I thought you said that punching people making a bad first impression.” 

Bodhi muttered, “Worth it.”

Bodhi was not surprised that Moonsong and Janson also moved to put themselves between him and Draven. He was surprised that they put him behind them, facing Draven with their hands hovering near their blasters. 

Draven slowly moved his hand away from his own blaster, showing open palms. He stood up. 

“Galen,” Janson said. “You built a memorial for him, right?” 

“I did.” Bodhi’s breath came with difficulty and he listed, leaning against the hallway wall. “I didn’t know anyone had seen that…” Bodhi’s felt a sense of disgust wash over him as he jerked a chin in Draven’s direction. “He’s the one that ordered him killed.” 

“Well, shit,” Janson said. 

Draven, now standing, gave Bodhi a level look. “Should I be expecting more violence?” 

Bodhi looked over at him. Draven looked serious, assessing him.

“Think I’m good,” Bodhi said. “Just...stay away from me.”

“Right. Well. Good to see you again, K-2SO.” Draven gave K-2SO a slow once-over. “Nice chassis,” he said, then turned and walked off. 

K-2SO watched Draven leave, then went over to brace his arm against Bodhi, helping him lift off the wall. “He holds a lot of power, here. You’ve probably made our lives more complicated,” he said aloud.

Bodhi watched Draven’s retreating form. “Probably. Can’t quite bring myself to regret it.”

* * *

“Bodhi, are you awake?”

Bodhi was pulled out of his pleasant drift, warm and comfortable in a medbay cot. Aside from the hum of machines, it was quiet, the few other inhabitants asleep for the evening. 

Quiet, aside from the voice in his ear. “I’m awake,” Bodhi said, barely making a noise. 

“There is a conversation happening within the shuttle. I am patching you through.” 

There was a hiss of static, then Bodhi heard a man’s voice say, “The droid obviously cannot be permitted to remain in the shuttle.” 

Bodhi was treated to the rather disorienting effect of hearing K-2SO, over the shuttle’s intercom, through his ear. “I fail to see why it is obvious.”

“You are a security droid. Having you in stationed in a shuttle is unstable.” 

“One,” K-2SO responded, “you are a member of the diplomatic corps, hardly an expert in droid processing. Two, the evidence is clearly against you, as I have existed within the shuttle for over a year without incident.”

“I’m more concerned about the danger,” came a woman’s voice. “We shouldn’t be having this conversation where it can hear us. We’ve confirmed the shuttle is a hazard. Let’s move the conversation.”

“I resent that choice of words,” came K-2SO’s security droid voice. 

“I think the droid is more likely to harm us than the shuttle is,” the man chimed in again. “It’s just politically dangerous.” 

In Bodhi’s ear, K-2SO said, “I deemed it unnecessary to mention my extensive anti-intruder protocols. I am learning diplomacy.”

“I’m very proud of you,” Bodhi responded softly as he thunked first one leg, then the other, over the side of the medcot. He shivered as his skin was exposed to the cold air. He reached back in his bed, wrapping the thick blanket around his shoulders as he slid out of the cot. “I’ll be there in a moment.” 

Bodhi walked through the corridors and listened to the conversation as he went. The man pointed out that many of the Rebellion’s most important supporters were veterans of the Clone Wars, and were likely to find a droid-controlled shuttle very suspicious. The woman pointed out that being unable to control which body a droid wound up in was a huge security risk. The man expressed some careful concern that other droids may be swayed by K-2SO’s ‘bad influence.’

Bodhi growled aloud in the middle of an empty corridor. 

“Calm down,” K-2SO told him. “His logic is reasonable, if unpleasant.” 

As Bodhi kept walking, it became apparent that there was someone else in the shuttle. Another male voice, this one older-sounding and deeper, addressed K-2SO directly. “And what do you have to say to these concerns?”

“I wound up in the shuttle entirely by accident, and circumstances forced me to adapt. As of now, I could not exist without the shuttle’s mainframe to support me. I am not attempting to subvert anything. I simply am.” 

“That’s all well and good, but it doesn’t address the actual concerns about security breaches and diplomatic incidents,” the older voice continued. 

“I had served the Rebellion for years prior to Scarif.” 

“You were programmed to do so.”

“And now I can offer the same pledge that any member of the Rebellion would make. To act in the interests of the Rebellion and not betray its secrets.”

“People give promises. Droids are programmed,” the woman broke in again. 

The older man shushed her. “Droids are wiped all the time. Reloading you into your security droid body would, in a way, simply be resetting you to default.” 

“No,” K-2SO said. “I have learned important things and am not willing to give those things up.” 

“We could interview you first…” The younger-sounding diplomat suggested.

“I’d like you to take a minute to realize that you’re trying to make yourself feel better about lobotomizing my friend by saying you’ll have a nice chat with him first,” Bodhi said, walking up the ramp to the shuttle. 

The younger man, dressed in the robes of the diplomatic corps, spun around guiltily. “Oh, uh, Sir, I thought you were in medbay.” As he spoke he edged behind the woman, whose stance and uniform indicated she was military. 

“I was,” Bodhi said, anger sharpening his syllables. 

The diplomat flinched and the soldier stiffened, coming to alert. Some small part of him was amused that, despite being thin and exhausted and wrapped in a fluffy blanket, he somehow managed to terrify the diplomat and put the soldier on edge.

General Dodonna seemed to take his appearance more in stride. “Are you certain you should be up? You look like you should still be in the medbay.”

“Considering the topic under discussion, I feel this is exactly where I should be. Sorry if that interferes with your plan to do away with Kay while I'm conveniently napping.” 

“Nobody is talking about doing away with him,” General Dodonna said. “We’re just considering our options. We need to ensure security.” 

“And how the Rebellion is perceived,” the younger man was quick to add.

“I do find it interesting that we had to find out about your little friend’s capabilities by reviewing the pilot’s reports and finding unused droid forms. This is the sort of information that should have been disclosed immediately.” 

“I was a bit busy not dying,” Bodhi said, letting sarcasm into his voice as he and his fluffy blanket wandered through the people and over to the couch. He sat down, forcing his breathing to regulate. It was frustrating, how little activity it took to exhaust him these days. 

“Of course, it was always our intention to include you in the discussion…” The diplomat trailed off as Bodhi gave him an extremely unamused look. “...we were just weighing our options,” he said instead, parroting the General’s words. 

Bodhi looked around the cabin. “It’s not an option. There is no option where you remove K-2SO from the shuttle.” 

General Dodonna walked closer to him. “Sometimes we need to make sacrifices for the greater good of the Rebellion.” 

“This is not a sacrifice we’re willing to make.” Bodhi gritted his teeth and stared at the general. “We will leave first.” 

Bodhi’s heart started pounding in his chest, his hands shaking as fear washed over him. He was finally safe and warm and well-fed and receiving medical care. K-2SO and Bodhi had no medical kit, no food supply, and scant fuel reserves. If he left, he would die. Still. Bodhi didn’t let it show on his face. He stared the general down.

“You can’t leave,” the woman cut in. “You know where our base is now. If the Empire got that information…Sir, we need to detain him.” 

“You can’t detain the Survivor of Scarif!” the diplomat said, a slight screech in his voice. “The morale impact alone…” 

“We can’t let him leave with Rebellion secrets!”

“Well, maybe we should let him keep the droid, then.”

“That is a security nightmare—” 

As the two of them bickered, Bodhi’s heart pounded faster and faster. He was certain the trembles moving through his body were visible from the outside of his blanket cocoon. Still, he pushed his shoulders back a little, stuck his chin out. Dodonna hadn’t broken eye contact, and neither had Bodhi. 

“You’ll die out there,” Dodonna finally said, cutting over the argument.

“Likely. But the Rebellion isn’t home unless it’s home to both of us. I’ve already-” Bodhi broke eye contact, looking to the side and swallowing hard. He took a breath, tried to calm some of the shaking. He looked back up at the general. “I’ve already lost too many friends. I’m not willing to lose another.” 

“This is unnecessary.” A new voice entered the conversation. Bodhi looked over at the shuttle entrance, and saw General Draven stepping into the shuttle. There was purple-blue bruising along the underside of his jaw. 

Bodhi’s heart sunk a little further. Draven was a complication. Perhaps he should have played nice with Galen’s executioner after all. 

“Your eyes and ears on-base informed you of the discussion?” Dodonna looked slightly amused. 

“No. Figured things out myself. I’m surprised you’re having this conversation without me. K-2SO was one of my operatives.”

“He’s a droid—”

“He deserted—”

Draven held up a hand. “He was a valuable mission-assist and he could be again.” 

“That’s what I’ve been saying,” K-2SO said. 

Draven nodded at the droid body. “Besides, Rook clearly isn’t letting this one go, and your choices are either detain him, kill him, or let him leave.”

“We do not want to be the organization that kills the Last Son of Jedha,” the diplomat mused. 

“What the fuck?” Bodhi couldn’t help but say. “These names are getting worse and worse.”

“So we imprison him.” The soldier largely ignored his outburst. 

“I think all of you need to step back and consider whether or not you actually _can_ imprison the man who got off of Scarif, out of a Star Destroyer, and successfully ran from the Empire’s concentrated forces for nearly half a year,” Draven said, his voice dry. 

Bodhi was confused. That sounded like praise. 

“Not to mention the man that took you unawares,” Dodonna said, smile creeping at the side of his mouth 

Draven rubbed at his jaw. “True. Rook and K-2SO are survivors and we need that. So, Rook keeps K-2SO and is responsible for his behavior. We’ll classify K-2SO’s abilities, and K-2SO will promise not to attempt to duplicate the circumstances of his turning into a shuttle with other droids. We agree not to wipe or restrain K-2SO without Rook’s explicit permission.” 

“That seems reasonable,” K-2SO said. “I have always enjoyed your pragmatism, Draven.” 

“Indeed.” Dodonna turned so that he was facing Draven and the other two more directly. “It seems like this addresses most of the major concerns.” 

“If the news gets out, it will reflect even worse on the Rebellion.” 

“This is still a security risk.” 

“It should be 'will not wipe K-2SO _at all_.'” 

“Bodhi. You will die if we leave again. Likely both the Rebellion and the Empire would be hunting us. This is a reasonable compromise.” 

“I’m going to need this written down before I agree to anything,” Bodhi said. 

Draven crossed the shuttle and handed Dodonna a datapad. Dodonna reviewed it, added his signature, then handed the pad down to Bodhi. Bodhi scanned through it. The terms seemed simple and clear. He gave it to K-2SO. “Look good to you?” 

“Yes,” K-2SO said and handed it back. Bodhi signed it, then with a slight sigh, gave the pad to Draven.

Draven touched the pad to his forehead in a little salute. “Unless there are any more issues that need resolving, I’m going to go figure out who has clearance to discuss this.” 

Bodhi swallowed, clenching his fists. Draven had likely just saved his life. He wasn’t sure what to do with that. He cleared his throat. “Ah, General Draven?” 

Draven turned, looking over at Bodhi. 

“The pilots that followed me should likely have clearance. They may have already figured it out on their own.” Bodhi paused. Draven looked at him, impassive. Bodhi continued, a bit awkwardly. “I would appreciate knowing who is cleared and who isn’t. K-2SO should be made aware as well.” 

“I’ll...make sure it happens.” Draven gave Bodhi a stiff nod, then left. 

There was a long silence in the shuttle. Bodhi stayed on the couch, his eyes moving from the irritated looking soldier, the diplomat with the furrowed forehead, and to Dodonna, who was looking at Bodhi. 

“I don’t understand it, but I admire your dedication to your friend. I hope that this doesn’t sour your view of the Alliance to Restore the Republic over-much,” Dodonna said, holding out a hand. “We can always use more people of firm conviction.”

“I’m hoping it works out as well,” Bodhi said, tiredness coloring his voice as the terror he had been trying hard not to show bled into exhaustion. He untangled enough from the blanket to shake Dodonna’s hand. 

“I look forward to seeing where you land. In the meantime, we’ll leave you to your rest.” He escorted the other two out of the shuttle. 

After they left, the shuttle ramp closed. Bodhi watched the ramp until it sealed shut, then pressed his hands to his face and let out a frustrated groan. “I thought things would be fixed when we made it back to the Rebellion.” 

“Things are better.”

“That was the doctor all over again.” 

“No, the doctor held your life as hostage to force me to eliminate every part of who I was. These people were trying to make me who I was when I was last with them. They can learn to adapt. Draven’s compromise is reasonable.” 

“Yeah...that seems suspicious. I punched him. Why would he help us?” 

“I do not believe he views it as helping us. It is helping the Rebellion, by giving it valuable operatives.” 

“You think he’s...trying to recruit us? No. _I punched him_. It doesn’t exactly speak well of my temperament.” 

“It speaks very well of your right hook. He likely believes that you and I will serve the Rebellion well in one capacity or another, even if it’s not in Intelligence. However, there is a 76% chance he will attempt to recruit you to Intelligence.” 

“Seventy-six! How high was it before I decked him?” 

“Sixty-eight.” 

“What?” 

“Draven values operatives who show a sense of independence and a comfort with physical violence.” 

“I...I think your analysis is off.” 

“We will see. Now go let Kitten out of your bedroom. I locked them in there so they wouldn’t get shot for attacking a member of Alliance High Command.” 

“Good plan.” Bodhi shuffled his way toward the bedroom.

* * *

Eventually, Bodhi was shuttled back to medbay by a concerned looking medical droid. The next week or so passed uneventfully. He was put on a nutrient-rich diet and could feel his strength start to come back. 

He was surprised by how little time he spent alone. 

There was K-2SO, of course. The droid was constantly in his ear and often by his bed. K-2SO bullied him into following his medroid-appointed physical therapy and ensured strict adherence to his eating schedule. 

But K-2SO wasn’t the only one around. The pilots who had flown with him at the end visited him daily, one by one and in groups. Janson and Moonsong were foul-mouthed and constantly tried to one-up each other. Raner and Verlaine were more quiet, steady presences. On one notable occasion, Verlaine and Janson tried to fistfight K-2SO while Raner looked on in horror and Moonsong took bets. 

Bodhi enjoyed their company immensely. He was a little quiet, a little stiff, but none of them seemed to mind as he remembered what it felt like to have friends. He gradually pieced together their half of the run as they chattered about bounty hunters, daring escapes, and how hard it was to find a good breakfast on Brentaal.

He met the comms officers that had coordinated the pilots' mission. Alph, with an Festian accent achingly like Cassian’s but with a bright enthusiasm that would have sounded utterly foreign in the man’s mouth. Mika, full of tired competence.

Bodhi was bemused to find that the Rebellion had eventually put as much effort into looking for him as he had looking for the Rebellion. 

A few other officials came by and spent time with Bodhi. General Cor, new head of the rapidly expanding Starfighter Corps, joined him on a walk for his physical therapy. Cor reinforced how impressed the pilots were with Bodhi’s tenacity and ingenuity. Cor offered Bodhi a spot in a squadron and his own X-Wing, if he wanted it. 

“Thank you. I’ll think about it.”

General Graffis brought a bottle of Corellian Whisky and an offer to work in Ordnance and Supply. “You’re used to scrambling. Used to doing the math and finding the connections to keep things running. We need that.” 

“Thank you. I’ll think about it.” 

General Forell came to his doorway and barked that Bodhi’s shuttle may as well be of some use, that the Rebellion always needed cargo haulers. “Let me know when you’re done lounging around. I’ll put you to work.” 

Bodhi didn’t thank him, but only because Forell had walked away from the door after he had said his piece. 

“I’ve got options,” Bodhi said to K-2SO.

“You do.”

“I have no idea what to do with options.” 

“You have time to think about things. Nobody is forcing you to make a decision right now.”

“I know. You’ll help me make a nice pro/con list later, right?” 

“Please do not insult my intelligence. I will provide you with a far more sophisticated analysis than a pro/con list.” 

“Can always count on you...Speaking of which, looks like the twenty-four percent might be winning, Draven hasn’t come around yet with a recruitment pitch.” 

“Give it time.”

* * *

Bodhi and K-2SO were watching a cooking competition in the shuttle when the ramp started decending. Bodhi ignored it in favor of ranting at the contestants. “Oh, for the love of— _don’t forget to cook the flour_. Judges are going to ding you for the raw-flour taste.” 

“Yes,” K-2SO agreed, turning his own ire on the holo, “you are completely disregarding caramelization, which is necessary for depth of flavor.” He looked over at Bodhi. “Is that correct?” 

“Spot-on. You’re getting the hang of this.” 

“It is much easier to harass sports team players. The rules are more consistent—Be careful! You are neglecting your wontons!” 

Bodhi gave a small gasp and leaned forward. “The wontons!”

“Are you...teaching him how to heckle a cooking competition?” Draven’s voice came from the bottom of the shuttle’s ramp. 

Bodhi started and looked over at Draven. 

“No, he is using a cooking competition to teach me the basics of organic taste. The heckling is my own project.”

“Why am I not surprised?” The casual curiosity bled out of Draven’s form, and his posture grew stiff. He turned to address Bodhi. “Rook, may I come in?”

Bodhi nodded and Draven walked up the ramp. K-2SO reached forward and paused the competition. 

Draven gave Bodhi a careful once-over. “You’re looking more recovered.” 

“Yes, nearly up to healthy weight again. Or so I’m informed.” 

“You’re going to need to debrief, now that you’re feeling better. Let us know what you’ve been up to, help us figure out if there are going to be any complications from taking you in.”

Bodhi nodded, feeling a little overly-formal. “I was surprised it hadn’t happened already.” 

“Yes. I would prefer to complete the interview myself, but if our...issues...are going to complicate things overly I can assign a subordinate. There may just be a few more rounds of questions as information gets filtered.” 

Bodhi stood up, tipping his head up slightly to look at Draven. “I think I can work with you. Actually, I was wanting to talk to you. I never said...I appreciate the compromise you set up.” Bodhi ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m still—still _furious_ you ordered Galen killed. It was the wrong call. But...you probably saved K-2SO’s life. So I can work with you.” 

Draven inclined his head. “Good. Come by my office at 0800 tomorrow. K-2SO knows where it is.” 

With that, Draven turned and started walking down the ramp. Over their private comm, K-2SO said, “He didn’t really save _my_ life. He probably saved the lives of those two bureaucrats and General Dodonna, however.” 

Bodhi answered subvocally. “I know, but it seemed prudent to not mention that. We are trying to play nice.” 

“Very diplomatic.”

* * *

Bodhi reached forward and took a sip of the water. “So after disabling the smuggler’s ship and taking their cargo, we realized the cargo was destined for a small colony that likely needed it to survive. Instead of taking it back to the forger, we decided to deliver it to the colony instead.” 

“Interesting choice.”

“It was the right thing to do. K-2SO and I argued about it. He had a bit of a crisis of identity, there. You’ll have to ask him for the details of that one.” 

Draven made a note on his pad. “What happened after the cargo was delivered?” 

“We actually ran into issues as the cargo was being delivered. Turned out a remote Imperial Intel Station was there. That was why the planet was blockaded in the first place. We were able to infiltrate the Intel center and disable it.”

Draven held up a hand. “Disable it by blasting it with the Zeta’s laser cannons?”

“I...yes, eventually. You really do know K-2SO.” 

Draven muttered, spinning around in his chair and opening a cabinet behind him. He pulled out a tall stack of datadiscs. He flipped through three, then threw the fourth in front of Bodhi. Bodhi inserted the disc into his padd, then scanned the contents.

“Yeah, that’s the one. Heh, didn’t know anyone had found the place.” 

“We traced some information we got from some underworld types—assumed it was internal sabotage.” 

“We sold the information to the forger, in exchange for new I.D.’s.” Bodhi popped the disc out and handed it back to Draven. “Yeah, that was us.”

Draven inserted it into his own pad and pulled out his stylus. “Take me through it step-by-step.”

It took forty minutes, but by the end of it Draven had the story and Bodhi had a nice moment of nostalgia.

“Okay. What happened next?” Draven asked.

"Well, we had information about increased Rebel activity on a planet called Mystfour, so that’s where we headed next."

Draven gave Bodhi a flat look. He muttered an expletive, then went back through the stack again. He grabbed another disc, and passed it over. 

Bodhi slid it into his padd and read over the information gathered and the Rebellion’s wild guesses as to what happened. He chuckled. "Wow. You got this all wrong. But yeah, it was us."

Bodhi looked up at Draven, then over at the remaining stack of thirty-or-so datadiscs sitting on his desk. Bodhi removed the Mystfour disc and passed it over to Draven. Then he carefully grabbed the precarious tower and pulled it towards him. 

Draven made a vaguely discontented noise, but didn’t actually stop Bodhi. Bodhi took his time, going through the discs one-by-one, tossing some on one pile in front of him, others on another. About half an hour was spent this way, until at the end, Draven’s original stack was sorted into two piles. One was about double the height of the other. 

Draven arched his eyebrows at the piles. “Impressive.” He leaned forward and tossed the Mystfour disc on the smaller stack. 

Bodhi winced, picked up the Mystfour disc, and placed it on the taller stack. He gave the taller stack a little pat. It wobbled.

Draven looked from one stack to the other, then up at Bodhi. “What the fuck.”

“I’ve been busy.” 

Draven gave Bodhi a long look. “...why do I have the feeling that the bounty the Empire put on you wasn’t nearly high enough?” 

Bodhi snorted at that. “You have seen that bounty, right? Plenty high.” 

“I’m not so sure. Right. This debrief is obviously going to take longer than I anticipated. I’m clearing three hours every morning for you, we’ll shift the time around as things come up. I may ask you to stay for longer, but that will be day-by-day.” 

“Seems reasonable,” Bodhi said.

“Okay. Back to Mystfour…”

* * *

“So, he and I got out of the cells and I offered to give him a ride back to his home planet.” 

“Roshwar.” 

“Yeah. And on the way, he and I...” Bodhi coughed and felt some heat bleed into his cheeks.

“Rook, I know I asked for a complete story, but I do not need to know about every intimate relationship you had in the past year and a half.” 

“And believe me, Draven, I would rather not tell you, but it is, unfortunately, relevant to what happened next.”

Draven looked a little tired and gestured at Bodhi, “Proceed.” 

“So after we...yeah...he gave me a gift. It was a—” 

There was a warbling growl from behind him. 

Bodhi stopped and turned around, finding a pair of operatives in the doorway. One was a Wookie, enormously large and wearing a cloak. The other was a Squib, tiny and foxlike, carrying the largest gun Bodhi had ever seen, aside from Baze’s cannon. It ran three-quarters the length of her body.

Draven made a small noise that was the closest thing to a groan Bodhi had ever heard come out of his mouth. “Stormy, Sumi, you’re back early.” 

The Wookie growled. 

“And it’s still intact?” Draven said, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“Nope!” the Squib gave a cheerful laugh. “By the way, boss, I need a gun-mounted grenade launcher. I had to throw the demolitions charges myself, like an _animal_.”

“You absolutely do not,” Draven said, at the same time the Wookie turned to her and rumbled. 

The Squib folded her arms. “You both are no fun.” 

“Bodhi, I’m going to need to handle this now. Take a lunch, I’ll meet up with you in two hours.” Draven turned to the Wookie. “Stormy, I’ll brief you now; Sumi, I’ll get your story this evening after I finish with Rook.” 

Bodhi nodded and got to his feet. 

Sumi chirped a cheerful, “Roger!”

Bodhi started walking toward the mess hall. He was surprised when the tiny operative scurried along after him. “Aw, man, you should have seen it! We had to get into this vault, so naturally Stormy manages to sneak us in.” 

“Stormy. The Wookie. Snuck?” 

“It’s all in the cloak, at least that’s what he says, but anyway, once we’re in there, we need to crack the safe, and neither of us are really safecrackers, so…”

Bodhi walked and let the chatter of the operative wash over him. He really wasn’t sure if he was supposed to be hearing this. They still hadn’t sorted out exactly what his clearance was. 

But as the operative chattered enthusiastically, Bodhi found himself sorting her information. After all, he had been having these conversations with Draven for two solid weeks. He’d be a bit thick if he hadn’t picked up on the basics by now. Times, places, contacts, materials used, weapons fired, objectives achieved, pending followup.

He couldn’t help but ask questions like, “So that was before or after the noon meal?” and “How many hostiles were taken out with that ‘frikkin’ gorgeous grenade toss’?” and “So, can you think of any way the governor could identify you?” and “You did _what_ with an AT-AT?” 

The last one was not so much a Draven question, but it still was worth asking. 

Two hours later he said goodbye to the operative and headed back to Draven. He brought with him a lunch tray for Draven and a filled out form I-64-I/M, ‘ _Mission to Deprive Hostiles of Information/Materiel_.’ 

Draven took the tray with a terse, “Thanks,” and started eating. While he ate he looked down at the form. He grunted and looked back up at Bodhi. 

Bodhi shifted a bit. “She wouldn’t stop talking. Figured I might as well make it useful.” 

Draven set down the datapad and gestured with the fork to the chair across the way. While Bodhi moved to take the seat, Draven set his fork down, folded his hands, and looked at him. 

Bodhi sat, a little stiff. 

“You would be best served by joining Intel,” Draven said.

Bodhi nearly collapsed in relief. “I was worried this was going to be a ‘Now I Need to Shoot You Because that was Classified’ talk.”

“No. While Agent Sumi has many favorable qualities, her discretion is not among them. However, very few operatives consider turning her chatter into a finished mission report, which is why I am willing to consider you for Intel.” 

Bodhi leaned forward, his elbows on the table. “One form does not make me an Intelligence Officer. I’ve had a lot of offers. Why should I go with you?” 

“Because I’m the one that understands that I’m getting a team, not a solo operative. Cor offered you starfighters, he’d expect you to give up your shuttle. Who else would have...I’m sure Graffis wanted a go, he’d let you keep Kaytoo, but he would fight you every single time Kaytoo made an independent decision. Forell. Well, Forell won’t care what you and Kaytoo get up to, so long as the cargo is hauled. But you, Bodhi Rook, would be wasted hauling cargo.” 

Bodhi felt something twist inside his chest. He tried to keep his expression flat, dug his fingernails into the pad of his hand and focused on the pressure. “I’m very recognizable. That can’t be a benefit.” 

“We’re going to be spending at least half a year figuring out how to turn your run into a proper spy ring. I want you training, as well, you’ve got more practical experience than most of my officers. As the heat dies down we can deploy the two of you away from Empire-contested territory.”

“You’ve thought about this.”

“I’ve been talking with Kaytoo. He’s...different now, but still fundamentally the same droid. He trusts you a great deal, and that speaks highly of your reliability. Honestly, Rook, I’d recruit you just to get Kaytoo back.” Draven snorted and picked up the datapad. “Hell, I’d recruit you just to never have to do another mission debrief with Sumi. But you’re a qualified operative in your own right.” 

“What would my rank be?” Bodhi asked. 

“Captain, to start. You’d report directly to me.” 

“That was Cassian’s rank.” 

“And you’ve been doing the sort of work I would expect of an officer of Cassian’s skill. You don’t have to answer now...just think about it.” 

“Thank you. I’ll….”

Bodhi almost said, I’ll think about it. Instead he held up a hand, stood up, and walked out into the hallway outside Draven’s office. 

So soft only his in-ear comm would pick it up, “Were you listening to that?” 

“I was.” 

“Let me guess. The analysis clearly shows we’re going to wind up in Intel.” 

“It’s a descriptive analysis, not a predictive one.” 

“Kay.” 

“Yes, Intel is the best option for our experience and skills. But...Bodhi, I don’t expect you to work with the man that ordered Galen killed.” 

“I didn’t expect to either. But...it feels right.” 

“If he does anything too ethically dubious you can always punch him again.” 

“I like the way you think,” Bodhi muttered as he walked back into the office. Draven was still at his desk, and he looked at Bodhi with his eyebrows raised. 

Bodhi took a deep breath. “I need something understood. If you set me up in a sniper’s seat with instructions to kill and nothing else, it’s going to go very poorly. For you.” 

“I’d be a piss-poor General if I sent you on an assassination mission. You don’t see the necessity of missions like that, and it’s not your skillset. That’s not something you have to be concerned about.” 

“Alright. Then...I can work with you. We’re in.” 

Draven’s comm clicked on, and through it K-2SO added, “I can’t wait until we get the chance to blow up Imperial strongholds with weapons-grade explosives.” 

A tiny smile twitched at the corners of Draven’s mouth as he looked down at his desk comm, up at Bodhi, then over to the in-ear comm. “Welcome back, Kaytoo.” He looked back back to Bodhi. Then he stood up from his desk and extended his hand. “And welcome to Intelligence, Captain Rook.”

**Author's Note:**

> And our heroes have gainful employment at last! 
> 
> This story didn't quite make sense with Rogues Last Run, but I wanted to show some of how they settle, and how they figure out their place. I hope you enjoyed it too! 
> 
> [I’m on Tumblr!](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/sassysnowperson) And I love company. Come on by and say hi.


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